The bright yellow Goldenrod Crab Spider may or may not have red stripes. It stills blends in with the flowers its sits on.

This species of spider uses camouflage as its primary defense as well as offense. It will bite to protect itself as well. Goldenrod Crab Spiders are able to change their coloration over the course of several days in order to blend in better with their surroundings.

They are an ambush spider, jumping on their prey. They do this instead of spinning webs and waiting for something to get tangled. They sit in the center of a flower, preferably a Goldenrod flower which are yellow, and wait for a bee or butterfly on its way to collect pollen to wander in close enough to grab. It uses its very long front pairs of legs to grasp the insect prey then bites it to immobilize it. They are able to grab insects much bigger than themselves with these strong legs (see photos).

Males are a darker yellow-brown with red bands and white on their abdomen. Females are completely white or yellow, and may or may not have red bands, spots or stripes on the abdomen.

A female lays an egg sac, usually under a leaf, and diligently guards it until the spiderlings hatch (in approximately 3 weeks). She dies shortly thereafter.

Basic Information

Common Name: Goldenrod Crab Spider

Other Name(s): Flower Spider

Scientific Name:Misumena vatia

Category: Spider

General Identification

Size (Adult; Length): 3mm to 9mm (0.12in to 0.35in)

Identifying Colors: Yellow; red

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Arthropoda

Class:Arachnida

Order:Araneae

Family:Thomisidae

Genus:Misumena

Species:vatia

Spider Anatomy (Typical)

1

Legs: Spiders have four pairs of legs and these are attached to the cephalothorax.

2

Pedipalps: Small appendages near the mouth used as taste and smell organs.

3

Cephalothorax: Contains eyes, head, mouthparts, and legs.

4

Abdomen: Contains various organs related to digestion, reproduction, and web-making.

5

Spinnerets: Used in the production of spider silk for fashioning webs or catching prey.

NOTE: Unlike insects, spiders have both an endoskeleton (internal) and exoskeleton (external).

Territorial Reach (A-to-Z)

Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed below as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections below indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.

The map below showcases (in red) the states and territories of North America where the Goldenrod Crab Spider may be found (but is not limited to). This sort of data can be useful in seeing concentrations of a particular species over the continent as well as revealing possible migratory patterns over a species' given lifespan. Some species are naturally confined by environment, weather, mating habits, food resources and the like while others see widespread expansion across most, or all, of North America.